A Wave of Patriotism: How Un-British!

When I moved to the Netherlands I was struck by the flag flying that goes on here. Many households have a flag pole attached to their house and at least once a year on Queen's Day a Dutch flag flaps proudly from the pole. Remembrance Day and Liberation Day are also marked by residents with flags outside their home.

I was struck by it because I didn't grow up with a lot of flag waving in Britain. There was some British flag flying when Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer in 1981. There was a wave of patriotism in 1977 when the Queen celebrated her silver jubilee. But other than that I cannot remember any real notable occasions when British flags could be seen in the streets. Until this year.

Having just come back from nearly three weeks in England I was amazed to see the scale of British flag flying going on: across pub fronts, in shop windows, across village greens and in house windows. A combination of the Queen's jubilee and Britain hosting the Olympics seems to have caused an outpouring of British sentiment and patriotism.

Here are some of the photos I captured of the 'British being un-British'.

Flying the British Flag on your Motor
(c) Amanda van Mulligen

Flying the British Flag at Home
(c) Amanda van Mulligen

FLying the British Flag at the Pub
(c) Amanda van Mulligen

Flying the British Flag at Land's End
(c) Amanda van Mulligen

A Cornish Off Licence Joins the Flag Flying
(c) Amanda van Mulligen

A Wool Shop Shows its Patriotism too
(c) Amanda van Mulligen

British Beer?
(c) Amanda van Mulligen

And not to be outdone, the family Ipad is also showing some British patriotism....

A Dutch House Move Made Cheaper - Is it Working?

Photo: Chris Holder

For those of you currently searching for your dream home in the Netherlands the recent reduction in home transfer tax from 6% to 2% should be a welcome boost to a despondent house market. It's a buyer's market for sure and it just got more attractive to take a step on the property ladder.... as long as you can get rid of your current property of course. However, experts relay that the real benefit of this government move won't be felt until the final quarter of 2011 so house sellers will need to exercise yet more patience.

Estate agents say that viewings have gone up 25% since the government made the announcement. From personal experience we have seen no effect whatsoever of the promise of a lower property transfer tax (which can save thousands of euro on a house purchase). We have had no extra viewers at all. Mind you, it would seem that the entire Dutch population is on vacation somewhere or other because it is quiet all round so maybe once the school holidays are over normal business will be resumed..........

I know there's at least one of you out there trying to sell a property... anyone noticed a boost in house viewings and negotiations as a result of the reduced property transfer tax? Are you persuaded to buy a property because of the money you save by the lower tax rate?